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Free Sample Article from Discover Your Ancestors Periodical

If you want to unearth those difficult to find ancestors and break down your brick walls, then one way to become more skilled is to read around the subject and learn where to look for your past family and how to use the records that they may be hidden within. A growing number of in-the-know family historians are turning to the online magazine: Discover Your Ancestors Periodical and this month there is so much packed inside its digital pages: Horatio’s last words: Explore Nelson’s last will and testament The Welsh at Work: Emma Jolly follows occupational migrations in and out of Wales in the 18th and 19th centuries Ancient roots: New DNA research sheds light on our origins Lost in the war, found in the records: WW1 case study The jester vs Jerry: How cartoonist Heath Robinson helped with the propaganda war against Germany in WW1 Message to the masses: Jill Morris follows the many journeys of John Wesley as he took Methodism to the people History in the details: Jayne Shrimpton on umbrellas Toughs in cuffs: Angela Buckley reveals how you can track down your criminal ancestors – assuming they were caught Regulars: news + events / Books / Place in focus: Bristol / Classifieds Even the most "respectable" families may have skeletons in the closet. Finding criminals in your family tree can be exciting and certainly add some colour so if you would like to read a full length Free Sample Article "Toughs in cuffs" taken from this month's Discover Your Ancestors Periodical head over to their website here: http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk/toughs-in-cuffs/

Discover your Ancestors Periodical 24

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Discover Your Ancestors Magazine Issue 4 - Free UK Postage

Discover Your Ancestors Magazine Issue 4 - Free UK Postage
The "print edition" magazine from the Discover Your Ancestors stable is out and there is so much packed between the pages that I'm still reading it! This is a really high quality 196 page bookazine that contains many new in-depth articles, research advice, social history, 'how to' features, case studies, places in focus, and much more. In my view it really is ideal for both experienced researchers and those just starting out. Here is what you get:  
  • 35 fascinating features about life in the past
  • 50+ types of records explored
  • The Georgians & beyond: Explore your family history back to medieval times
  • Celebrities: Daniel Craig's French forebear
  • and much more!
Also included is a FREE Cover DVD with over £130 worth of resources! Including:
  • 3 Month Gold Subscription to TheGenealogist (worth £24.95!)
  • 3 Month Subscription to Discover Your Ancestors Online Periodical
  • Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland 1893
  • Bartholomew's Atlas of England & Wales 1898
  • Topographical Dictionary of England 1849
  • Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1839
  • RootsMagic Essentials family tree software
  • Printable A4 Charts

    Discover-Your-Ancestors-Magazine-Issue-4

To get your copy check out your local newsagent, or go now to: http://www.genealogysupplies.com/image/large/Discover-Your-Ancestors-Magazine-Issue-4.jpg I would also recommend to you the digital-only periodical that comes out monthly. There is one due very soon indeed, so do keep a look out for that as well!
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In a new study from Oxford University and published in Nature, researchers have found genetic signatures among  people from Britain that give away their historical roots in particular areas of the UK. It has enabled them to create the finest-scale map of genetic variation yet. The analysis gives us a snapshot of clusters of genetic variation in the late 1800s, when people were less likely to migrate far from their region of birth and so they believe this reflects  the historical waves of migration by different populations into the island that is Britain. “The patterns we see are extraordinary,” says Peter Donnelly, director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford, UK, who co-led the study published 18 March in Nature. “The genetic effects we’re looking at are the result of, probably, thousands of years of history.” Few people from the British Isles would today have ancestors from just one region of the country, but the researchers were able to find 2,039 Britons of European ancestry who lived in rural areas and also knew that their four grandparents were all born within a short distance of each other. Their findings are that
  • Modern Britain can be divided into 17 distinct genetic groupings
  • The English genomes are 40 percent French, about 26 per cent shared with the Germans, 11 per cent with the Danes and in the region of nine per cent with the Belgians
  • The Northern Welsh have the most DNA from the the original settlers of Briton and differ from the Southern Welsh
  • A clear genetic division between the people of Cornwall and Devon that still persists along the county boundary of the River Tamar which shows for the first time what had been thought for a long time
  • Notwithstanding the long held belief that the Vikings raped as they conquered they have left very little of their DNA behind
Leslie, S. et al. Nature http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14230 (18 March 2015).

DNA_Double_Helix

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The Real "Banished" Character found in TheGenealogist Records

I was intrigued to read on TheGenelaogist's website, that their researchers have discovered the real story of James Freeman, as played by Russell Tovey in the BBC TV series Banished. As they say in their article "Freeman's real story is fascinating, if a bit gruesome." I won't  spoil it for you, as you can read it all by heading over to their featured articles on their website here: http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2015/hang-or-be-hanged-the-finisher-of-the-law-237/ What I can tell you is that the Transportation records to be found on TheGenealogist website is a fabulous resource for discovering convict ancestors that this country wanted to send away "to parts beyond the seas".

Programme Name: Banished - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. n/a) - Picture Shows:  James Freeman (RUSSELL TOVEY) - (C) RSJ Films - Photographer: Matt Squire

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Getting the Most out of RootsMagic - Seventh Edition - by Bruce Buzbee

Just found this New book to help you get the most out of RootsMagic at online genealogy shop: S&N Genealogy Supplies. RootsMagic is the easiest genealogy software available, yet many people will barely touch the tip of the iceberg of RootsMagic's features. If you are one of these people, then this book is for you. You start with basic data entry and continue by learning advanced techniques such as custom reports, citing sources, GEDCOM, creating user-defined facts, scanning images, and merging. Mix that with time-saving short-cuts, and you soon will have a complete understanding of RootsMagic and its hidden powers. Written by the author of RootsMagic, Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic will teach you how to:  
  • Create a detailed family history
  • Explore the advanced concepts and techniques
  • Properly document your entire family history for future generations
  • Publish your family history
  • Add photos to bring your family history to life
  • Use short-cuts to speed-up data entry
  • Create customised wall charts
  • Organise your unfinished research using RootsMagic
  • Share your family history on the World Wide Web  No. of Pages: 383

Getting-the-Most-out-of-RootsMagic-Seventh-Edition

  Available from S&N Genealogy Supplies.    
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Nelson's Words

The BBC 2 TV programme: Nelson in His Own Words is on our screens today, or can be seen on the iPlayer for 30 days. Horatio Nelson was Britain's greatest naval hero and this programme shows us how he  was also a prolific letter writer. The correspondence reveals that Nelson was a very different and more complex man than the hero that Britain created after his death. Using Nelson's letters this drama documentary exposes Nelson's skilful and manipulative use of PR to advance his career, and shows how he was careful in his praise of his rivals - in case they threatened his own prospects. And the letters reveal how his passionate love affair with Lady Emma Hamilton changed his life forever.  The programme stars the highly regarded RSC actor Jonathan Slinger as Nelson. In a twist, TheGenealogist have a fascinating article on their website that reveals more of Nelsons words but this time as featured in his last will and testament that can be found using their resources. Of particular interest is the codicil that Nelson wrote just before the Battle of Trafalgar "in sight of the combined fleets of France and Spain" that asked the King and Government to provide for his mistress, Lady Emma Hamilton. With the great victory that Nelson delivered, but losing his life in the process, the authorities heaped money and titles on his family while ignoring his very last wishes in the codicil he had written on the day of his death!

2 - The Death of Nelson

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The March issue of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical is  now available. This month this genealogical magazine features articles on: Lost and found: Sharon Brookshaw explores the history of child abandonment and the rise of foundling institutions The Marine boys (and girls): Nell Darby on the history of a unique society which helps poor children find work at sea Plotting the past: Tithe maps are coming online A nation of gardeners: Margaret Powling digs into the history of gardening as a popular pastime The First Fleeters: Laura Berry follows the experiences of people in the first penal colony to be founded in Australia Before the trains came: Horse-drawn transport in Leeds The great survey: Jill Morris delves into Griffith’s Valuation History in the details: Jayne Shrimpton on wellies Regulars: News + events / Books / Place in focus: Devon / Classifieds Subscribers get this high quality monthly digital magazine delivered to their own personalised online account every month. The beautifully designed 30+ page online magazine is packed full of stories, case studies, social history articles and research advice. This regular and affordable service is a must have for anyone starting out in family history research, or for those with more experience but who have reached brick walls. Visit their website now to pick up your copy today: http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk/

Discover Your Ancestors March

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